(MC POV)
I was on my PC playing games when it happened. I don't know exactly what happened, but from my last moments, instead of my life flashing before my eyes, I used the time to think about how I died. In the end, I was killed by lightning hitting a potted plant experiment I had left outside on my windowsill; then, the lightning jumped to my computer and exploded. At least my experiment worked.
Now, I am in a room with many super-tall and strangely monochromic people. This group of "people" is surrounding something resembling a big TV show game spinner in the middle of this room, which slowly stops and lands on something. One of the tall people, the one in yellow, gets up and hurrahs before they notice I am here, and they immediately sit down and pretend like I didn't see that.
"Am I to assume you guys are gods?" (Me)
"Wow, this one is quick to the uptake," said a god in white, whom I will name after their colors.
"Yeah, the last one was calm but really quiet. This one seems a little too calm." (Blue)
"Well, we know your world is the one with the most stories about stuff like this happening." (Yellow)
"Yeah, yeah, don't remind me... I have no clue how they figured this out." (Green)
"So was I right?" (Me)
"Yeah, you were, and we lost another bet with Terra because of this." (White)
The god coated in green suddenly took the form of an old woman wearing a green overcoat.
"I win again, told you all so." (Terra)
"So I can guess I died, and what now? Reincarnation or something?" (Me) The woman in green, Terra, turned towards me.
"Yes, we were interested in your thinking, and you're kinda fun to watch over, but it's such a shame to turn out this way." (Terra)
"Yo, shut yer trap, grandma, he's mine now." (Yellow)
"How rude." (Terra) The older woman stuck up her nose at the yellow-robed voice.
"I'm who's?" (Me)
"You're going to reincarnate in his world, but both of us will give you a gift to help you, wishes you could say." (Terra)
"What can I wish for?" (Me) I was getting a bit excited, so I pretty much focused mainly on those words.
"You can choose a power from any game you played on Earth, and knowledge on how to use it," (Terra) said with a smile.
"Undertale. I want the traits from Undertale, not one, but all of them from the canon game." (Me)
"I see, manageable wish, granted. Also rather fitting for the world you are going to." (Terra)
"What's yer wish from me, kid?" (Yellow)
"Quick Question? Who are you?" (Me)
I hear the other gods all chuckle a bit as he had never introduced himself.
"Ahem, I am Arasil, God of The Marble Realm." (Arasil)
"Oh, cool." (Me)
"Anyway, what's your wish?" (Arasil)
"Can I keep my memories?" (Me)
"That seems to be a commonly asked question." (White)
"Well, obviously, they don't like to forget things." (Terra)
"You can, but you will lose memories of your family and this conversation to compensate for your knowledge."
"Wait a damn minu-"
And I was soon dropped from my position and into an infinite expanse of darkness.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
(Counsel of Gods POV)
"That was cruel." (Terra)
"What? It was a fair trade, plus you all know I am not the one who is good with memory travel. I can't guarantee I can get it to him in one piece anyway." (Arasil)
"Fine." (Terra)
"Well, with that, let's wait for the next traveler, righto?"
"Sure." (Terra)
"Sure." (Arasil)
"Sure." (Blue)
And countless other "Sures" were heard throughout the hall.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
In a random forest in the Marble Realm...
(MC POV)
'Where am I? I'm pretty sure I was chatting with...gods? That's right, they said I'd be reincarnated here with soul powers. What the-'
{ Twil
STAT:
LV 1
RK 0
EXP: 0
NEXT: 10
HP: 20 / 20
EN: 20 / 20
AT: 10 (0)
DF: 10 (0)
ITEM:
WEAPON: Stick
ARMOR: Bandage
GOLD: 0
SOUL:
KILL/MERCY: 0 / 0
TRAIT: N/A
SKILLS: N/A }
'Well, that's cool. I guess I got the interface, too, but where am I? I thought I'd be reincarnated with like, new parents, but I am a fully grown... Kid?! Why do I have such small features? I've got to find a mirror or a lake or something! Wait, I don't remember how I used to look, nor anything other than my personality. I can remember some tidbits of games and novels I read back on... Where did I come from again? Enough of that! I'd better find someone or civilization soon.' (Twil)
I walked for a while, and I think I finally saw an end to this forest! Ahead of me is a city with tall, ornate buildings. As I walk up to the gate, one of the gatekeepers begins to speak to me.
"What are you doing here, kid? Where did you come from?" (Gatekeeper 1)
"I don't know, I just remember waking up in the forest." (Twil)
"That forest? No one ever comes back alive from there, how did you?" (Gatekeeper 2)
"Eh? There was nothing in there, except a few small animals that ignored me." (Twil)
"Hmm, well, I suppose, but you are kinda suspicious. We will let you in, but you better find your parents. This is the only time I'll help you." (Gatekeeper 1)
"Thank you! What's your name, sir?" (Twil)
"Hmph, I'm Gi, and my buddy over there is Ang." (Gi)
"I'm Twil. Nice to meet you two." (Twil)
"Now get inside before we change our minds." (Ang)
I walked through the gate and waved back at Gi and Ang, but they didn't wave back, and I think Ang rolled his eyes a bit. This town is rather large with lots of people, as it seems the gate leads directly to the market, but it's not like I have anything to sell or even buy, for that matter. In the middle of thinking about it, I get a feeling as if I have some sort of choice waiting for me somewhere.
I look around, and the SOUL row blinks in my little status screen.
[ TRAIT:
Determination
Bravery
Justice
Kindness
Patience
Integrity
Perseverance ]
I just decided to select Determination for now. I got to a place that sort of looked like a school, and it seemed to be recruiting, so I asked a random person in the line what they were recruiting for.
"Hey, what is this place recruiting for?" (Twil)
"What? Don't you know this is the Sect Examination for the Soul Arts Sect? It's a very prestigious school that focuses on creating personal soul techniques." (???)
"How do you sign up then?" (Twil)
"Duh, this is the examination. You get in the group and see if you can pass when they test us." (???)
"Okay, thanks for the info." (Twil)
So that's what I did. I waited in a group, and then an old dude came out of nowhere. I felt some sort of invisible pressure that bore down on me, but I was still standing, as I was determined not to fail. Time passed, and soon, only around 20 people were still upright, with only me and four others still standing. The pressure had gotten more and more overbearing, but my soul trait seemed to be doing what I wanted, as I myself did not falter.
"Hoho, seems we have quite a strong batch this year. You 5 can come with me; the rest of you who managed to stay awake can follow that man to the Disciple court." (Old Man)
He led the five of us to a big building with countless stairs. I quickly switched my Soul to Perseverance in case this was the next test.
"Depending on the step you get to, you will be assigned to one of the 12 elders to be their personal disciple. If you manage to make it to the top, you will receive a special prize." (Old Man)
We started walking, and much like the first so-called test, the pressure increased with each 5th step. Everyone seemed fine until the 25th step, when the pressure got much denser as the gravity increased. One of them, a young-looking girl, started to run up the stairs, and we saw her fall down at the 50th step. So, I started to walk up to the 50th step in a calm and collected manner. Once I got there, it was correct that the pressure increased many folds again. If this goes on like this, I'd imagine the next time gravity increases, it will be at the 100th step.
I kept walking, continuing to count the steps I took, and I got up to the 500th step, barely making it up halfway. The pressure was almost crushing me, but I was managing to persevere in my climb, eventually making it to the end at a far slower rate than I calculated.
The old man was waiting at the very top, and he nodded towards me, gesturing for me to follow him. Soon, I arrived at a set of rooms, each labeled with a number. Only when we arrived at a room labeled "#1" did the old man speak.
"Those stairs were a test of your soul's strength, and your is very persistent, I can see. We have one more test, but the elders decided to let you all rest here; you're the last one; all the others are inside their rooms already." (Old Man)
So I entered my room and thought about everything that happened that day. It happened too fast, but if that's how things roll, I suppose that's fine with me. I got myself into many weird scenarios, but I can roll with that if it is the norm. Let's think about the overview of today!'
First, I found myself reborn in a forest with nothing but a stick and a bandage on my face. I then managed to get to a city by the mercy of the guards before getting selected into a sect. There is also another test tomorrow. All of this happened on the first day of my new life, so I don't know if I am fortunate or unlucky. Welp, I better get some sleep for the test tomorrow.'